Jonathan Franzen is an American writer, author of numerous novels and essays.
Born August 17, 1959 in Chicago, Illinois, USA
Jonathan Franzen was born in Chicago, Illinois, grew up in Missouri, in the suburb of Webster Groves in St. Louis, and studied at Sworthmore College.
In addition, during his student years he received a Fulbright scholarship, allowing the best students to study abroad, and spent some time at universities in West Germany.
He now lives in New York City, on the East Side, and is a regular contributor to The New Yorker.
In 1988 he published his first novel, The Twenty-Seventh City.
("Twenty-seventh City") This book is about St. Louis, which was once, in the 1870s, the fourth city in the country, but gradually lost its leading position. A rather large volume book was well received, and after it in Franzen began to see at least a young and promising author.
In 1992, Strong Motion was published, focusing on the “disadvantaged” Holland family and earthquake-related disasters on the east coast of the United States—a metaphorical description of the disasters that rock family life.
The book "The Corrections" ("Amendments"), a novel of a socially critical plan, which received very good reviews in America, the national literary award "National Book Award" in the nomination "fiction" (in 2001) and the award "James Tait Black Memorial Prize" in exactly the same nomination (in 2002).
In September 2001, the book was selected for the Oprah Winfrey Book Club. Jonathan Franzen was enthusiastic about this, gave Oprah a long interview. However, in October, his mood about this event changed dramatically: the logo of the Oprah show was now printed on the books, and Franzen naturally saw his book, his creation, in his novel, and did not want anyone’s corporate emblems to adorn his cover. He turned down the next invitation for an interview with Oprah, without even bothering to find a good and polite reason for it.
However, at the rate of sales, neither one nor the other event
The Corrections have both been and remained one of the best selling bestsellers of the twenty-first century. And later in one of the public speeches Jonathan thanked Oprah Winfried for his attitude to his novel.
However, from the pen of Franzen came not only artistic
After The Corrections, he published How to Be Alone.
How to Be Alone, 2002, a collection of essays (including the well-known Perchance To Dream) and a memoir, The Discomfort Zone.
(The Discomfort Zone, 2006). “How to Be Alone” is a kind of apologia for reading, an expression of Franzen’s concern about the place of literature among the values of modern society; the second book continues this line, supplementing it with childhood memories, memories of adolescence and maturity.
In addition to creating his own works, Jonathan translated foreign. In 2007, he translated the book Frühlings Erwachen (Spring Awakening). As he explained in the preface, the translation was made by him back in the 80s, but after this work was staged on Broadway as a musical and interest in it sharply increased, Franzen decided to publish his translation - "because he knew that his translation was and remained the best."
Of course, the talented and successful author could not but be invited to television, and he took part in the filming of various TV shows.
In 2009, excerpts of Jonathan Franzen’s new book, Freedom, appeared in the press.